BA clears way for on-board mobile use

Get your text and email on over the Atlantic

Passengers on British Airways flights will no longer be disconnected from the world while in the air, because the airline has announced plans to allow mobile phone use during flights.

Starting in Q4 this year, business class passengers travelling from London City airport to JFK in New York will be able to use their phones, but without the ability to voice call.

This means that text, email and web-browsing will all be possible on the flight, and the rest of the plane's passengers will be able to watch the film without having to have George from the accounts division shouting his instructions to Debbie in their ear.

No plans for chat

"There are no plans for voice calls at the moment, but we will listen to feedback from passengers," a BA spokesperson told The Telegraph. "The customer is in charge."

However, there's no word on when, or even if, the service will be rolled out to other passengers and flights, despite a few competitors trialling similar services on a wider range of flights.

The public is divided over the use of mobile phones on planes, with many wishing the skies to remain a peaceful haven of travel. But others, especially business people who spend a large proportion of time travelling, want to make use of the spare time to catch up on work.

Banning voice calls appears to be a good compromise, but only time will tell whether the public will change their mind and let loose the full might of the mobile.